St. Patrick-St. Vincent High offensive line getting results despite few headlines

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The St. Patrick-St. Vincent offensive line push and lift the sled during practice. - Chris Riley — Times-Herald

St. Patrick-St. Vincent’s offensive line, from left, Myles Magarrell, Nathan Olmes, William Jones, Craig Guila and Amos Jiang have been carrying the team to success by creating holes and protecting the quarterback. - Chris Riley — Times-Herald

By the time you finish reading this sentence, St. Patrick-St. Vincent High quarterback Akil Edwards would still have time to throw a pass in the pocket.

By the time you finish this second sentence, St. Pat’s running back Marshel Martin has likely found a hole and busted through it for a first down.

The Bruins (10-1), who are preparing to play in their second straight Northern Coast Section Division V championship game, definitely have some playmakers.

However, it’s the offensive line that has consistently given them time to work their magic this year. Players such as senior Amos Jiang (left tackle), junior Will Jones (left guard), senior Myles Magarrell (center), junior Craig Guila (right guard) and junior Nathan Olmes (right tackle) have given players like Martin and Edwards so much space to move they could be real estate agents. Junior Cameron Stewart, who returns this week from an injury, has also played well when healthy.

When these players don’t see their names in the paper or headlines, they don’t seem to mind.

“A win is a win. Yeah, we create running room and we’re a part of it, but at the end of the day we’re just part of a team performing and getting a win,” Jiang said.

Olmes agreed with Jiang.

“Yeah we do our part, but I mean if Marshel is running for something like 300 yards or whatever, those are HIS yards,” Olmes said, with a huge laugh. “The only time people talk about us is when things are going bad. As a lineman that’s just something you accept. We’re like someone backstage that makes it happen. Like roadies.”

These “roadies” have created more noise for the Bruins’ offense this year then a rock show put on by the Foo Fighters (who ironically have a new single, “The Line.”). Martin, a senior running back who has rushed for at least 1,300 yards and 24 touchdowns this year, appreciates everything Jiang, Jones, Magarrell, Guila, Olmes and Stewart do. In fact, earlier in the year Magarrell said Martin told the line that “his yards were also their yards.”

“I really follow the whole line, but I tend to follow Myles and Nathan a lot,” Martin said earlier in the week. “I rely on them and I wouldn’t be Marshel Martin without them.”

Although St. Pat’s head coach Lane Hawkins has said that his offense is sometimes a little complex, he tries to keep it very simple for the line.

“I’ve been impressed with their consistency this year,” Hawkins said. “We run a lot of variations on offense, but that’s just kind of window dressing for the line. The line really only does about three different things. We reduce the level of complexity for them and I think that helps make them efficient.”

Hawkins said the share of the leadership duties on the line have been mostly split between Olmes and Jiang, with Olmes being one of the more vocal ones. That doesn’t mean Jiang, a Chinese exchange student, never speaks up though.

“Two years ago as a sophomore we lost our last game of the season to Pinole Valley and Amos was in tears after the game,” Hawkins said. “He came up to me and said, ‘I promise you coach, that will NEVER happen again.’ He really, really cares about the sport and the team. He embodies being a Bruin. He has sold out not only on the football field but in the classroom as well.”

Jiang said his choice to play football was one of the best he’s ever made.

“The last two years I’ve done my best to try and develop myself and help in any way,” Jiang said. “Not only on the football field but any way in life.”

Olmes, for one, is happy Jiang decided to play football.

“I’ve really looked up to him and he’s my go-to-guy when I’m trying to get better on the line,” Olmes said. “To me, he’s the best lineman in the league and it’s been great playing next to him.”

Both players, however, give a lot of credit to their success to two coaches, Mark Spinelli and Mel Crespo. Both players, almost in unison, said that Crespo helps more with the technical part of the line, while Spinelli is the “spiritual guru” and helps more with the mental approach.

Spinelli, for one, loves when the offensive line is playing well as evident from the coach looking this Times-Herald reporter dead in the eye near halftime of its playoff win against Stellar Prep and saying, “You want the story for this game? The offensive line. They’re dominating. Just dominating!”

Been working at the Times-Herald full time since early 2011, was a stringer from 2001-2004 while in college at San Francisco State where I studied Journalism. Have worked as a copy editor and sportswriter since 2011. Fan of Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, Kings and Raiders.